Guardian Angel

Summary:
Edward Swan willingly removes himself from the Vally of the Sun in favor of Forks, to live with his father, Charlie in a sunless town completley opposite to his taste. He intends to remain anonymous; to suffer in silence and make his mother, Renee, happy. Bella Cullen is a hundred year old vampire with a rather mundane existence. She loves her family; her sisters Alice and Rose, her brothers, her 'parents'... But she can't shake the feeling that something's missing... When Bella meets Edward, both of thier lives are irrevocably altered. The trouble's in admitting it...and wether Edward, fragile and frustratingly human, will survive the journey before Bella gives into temptation. ** I know this idea has been done a thousand times over, but I just couldn't help myself! This actually follows the Twilight plotline really losely; I figured a LOT would be different if Edward was the human one. [banner removed per site regulations]

Notes:

12. Chapter 12; Stay Casual

Bella Cullen was going to be the death of me. It was only ten minutes into the lecture, and I’d spent every second of that time resisting the urge to touch her, or talk to her or something… At this point, I hardly knew what I wanted from her. Only that I wanted.

The only solution my frazzled brain came to was to keep very, very still, to clench my hands into fists on my knees, pay attention to Mr. Banner, and to keep my gaze carefully averted from the angel beside me.

So I did so. Mr. Banner received every ounce of my attention; his lecture the subject of my highly detailed notes.

Funny thing, though, I didn’t absorb a word. We could have been discussing top secret government information pertaining to area fifty one and it wouldn’t have fazed me. I was paying attention, yes. But I wasn’t listening. I’d heard it all before anyways, back in my advanced science class in Phoenix. Prophase, anaphase, telephase, metaphase…

My attention slipped for only a second when I saw Bella stealthily peek out at me from behind the curtain of her dark hair. I stayed perfectly still, trying to make my expression as passive as possible. It was incredibly difficult to pretend that I didn’t want to reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear, look deep into those topaz eyes and -

Mr. Banner was asking Bella a question that I hadn’t heard. Apparently, she hadn’t heard either.

“Um, can you repeat the question?” She asked sheepishly in that bell-like voice.

Mr. Banner repeated the question, and for the second time, I didn’t hear it.

“Anaphase,” she whispered, glancing down.

Approximately fifty five agonizing seconds after Mr. Banner resumed his lecture, I felt something cold nudge my knee. I glanced up immediately, only to see Bella staring forward like nothing had happened, a tiny smile on her perfect lips.

She slid a sheet of paper towards me across the table, one line written in perfect, flowing handwriting at the very top.

Bored, Mr. Swan?

I smiled to myself, despite the fact that I was completely floored. My heart rate accelerated to a speed that was rather ridiculous. It was only a note, for God’s sake!

But it was a note from Bella. That made all the difference.

I’ve taken this lesson before. So yes, definitely bored, I scribbled, feeling bad for defiling the paper by putting my messy scrawl in juxtaposition with Bella’s flawless script. I passed the sheet over, realizing too late that perhaps my sentence sounded arrogant.

I berated myself internally. She hardly knew me, and I was probably coming off as a condescending jerk -

She passed the paper back. Me too, she’d written. And it was boring the first time around. I looked in her direction, and she had a secret sort of smirk etched into her features, like she was enjoying a private joke.

Agreed, I wrote, then paused, trying hard to think of something interesting to say. Nothing immediately came to mind. After all, what could I possibly say to Bella Cullen that would impress her?

I settled for easy conversation. Is your next class more interesting?

She laughed silently while she wrote her response. Dear God no. Gym never ceases to annoy me. You?

I have gym too, I wrote back. Just this morning, I’d lamented over the fact that I had it last period. Now I was rejoicing.

“Oh,” she whispered out loud, looking at me again, her topaz eyes getting darker for the second time all day.

Co-ed? I asked.

She hesitated, taking a deep, slow breath through her nose, a small smile gracing her beautiful features. She nodded minutely, looking up at me shyly from under thick eyelashes.

“Walk with me?” I asked out loud, in a whisper quiet enough that I imagined no one would be able to hear it. I didn’t look away from Bella to check.

She hesitated for half an instant, like she was having some sort of internal debate. “Of course,” she finally said, the perfect tone of her voice not affected even though she spoke in less than a whisper.

“Is there something you would like to share with the class?” Mr. Banner interrupted our almost silent conversation, and both of our heads snapped back to the front of the room -

Bella looked like she was about to die laughing. Her shoulders shook in silent hysterics, a huge smile showing off all her teeth. Mike was beet red by now and avoiding looking at Mr. Banner. Instead, he glared in our direction. I only smiled in response to his anger.

“But Mr. Banner, Swan was the one -”

Swan. Huh. We were on last name basis now. That probably had to do with the fact that I was the one speaking to Bella. Suddenly, I felt rather…smug. And, if I was being honest with myself, I felt a bit…possessive too, though I had no right, no claim on her whatsoever…

“No ‘buts’, Mr. Newton. Edward has taken this lecture before. You have not. So I suggest you pay attention.”

Mr. Banner turned back to the chalk board, and Mike sent me a glare so murderous I couldn’t help but join Bella in her silent laughter.

Her eyes glittered when our laughter subsided to nothing more than heavy breathing. The topaz, I noted, was back in full force, a light, buttery caramel color that brought attention to the lighter highlights in her hair.

God, was she beautiful…

Snap out of it, Edward, I told myself, though even my thoughts managed to be half-hearted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to snap out of it. Whatever it was.

When the bell rang, Bella stood up quickly, carefully pulling the strap of her messenger bag onto her shoulder. We didn’t speak as she led me to the door, but the silence wasn’t…uncomfortable, exactly. It was charged with a strange sort of electricity.

We both made the mistake of reaching for the door handle at the same moment, and her fingers only just brushed the back of my hand, her skin touching mine for the first time. We both jumped, and I wondered if she’d felt it too, that jolt of pent up electric energy pulsing through my veins…

“Sorry,” she mumbled, and she looked sorry, too.

“It’s okay,” I muttered back, reaching again for the door handle and holding it open for her. She whispered her thanks, and we both continued down the hallway, stuck in an almost awkward silence. She kept glancing at me like she was measuring something. What, I couldn’t imagine.

I stopped when she did, in front of what I assumed to be the locker rooms.

“I have to go change,” she said, but she didn’t budge one inch from where she stood in front of me. “You shouldn’t have to, seeing as it’s your first day. They’ll probably just make you walk laps.”

“Always fun,” I said sarcastically, running my fingers through my hair again, a nervous reflex. I didn’t quite know what to do in this situation.

She smiled, then very deliberately reached out one hand to touch my arm, her eyes on mine, almost like she was waiting for my reaction.

My first impulse, of course, was to grab her around the waist and pull her close, so that I could see if the electricity generated by her touch increased with more contact. But I remained painfully still as her icy fingers touched me gently.

And then she dropped her hand, like she’d been shocked. She cleared her throat. “Well, in case I don’t get to talk to you again, I’ll see you tomorrow, Edward,” she said in a rush, then turned away quickly.

“Bella, wait,” I said quietly, reaching out on impulse and holding her back, one hand on her shoulder. She spun back to face me, eyes wide. I wondered if I’d crossed some sort of line, and I instantly dropped my hand.

“Yes?” She asked.

“It was nice meeting you. And your family,” I said sincerely. “Thank you for being so welcoming to the new kid.”

She smiled that magical smile that could bend me to her every whim. “It was our pleasure, Edward, believe me,” she said honestly. “Will you sit with us at lunch tomorrow? I understand if you don’t, but I think I speak for my entire family when I say that we want you there.”

I nodded, not quite able to trust my voice with words.

“Great,” she said with a perfect half-smile. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“Bye, Bella,” I murmured, hoping she didn’t hear the longing in my voice.